KeSPA closes historic StarCraft league

The Korean eSports Association has closed the StarCraft ProLeague and will no longer operate five of the teams that were a part of it.

The ProLeague was the longest running eSports competition, having been going in one form or another since 2003. It originally started out with Brood War competitions before becoming the premier StarCraft II competition in the region.

KeSPA also ran the teams in the league on behalf of sponsors, running the day to day operations of teams such as MVP, SK Telecom and Samsung Galaxy. KeSPA will no longer be doing this for five of the teams in the league, although names were not mentioned.

“The decision to put the past 14 years behind us and discontinue ProLeague was a difficult one and it deeply saddens me to have to also bring you the news that KeSPA will be stopping its operations of ProLeague teams,” said KeSPA Chairman Jun ByungHun. “Although ProLeague has ended, StarCraft will continue to be a globally competitive eSport. StarCraft is one of the world’s best RTS games and is an immersive and exciting eSport to watch as well as play. With its partners, KeSPA will look for ways to support pro-gamers who will be competing in the WCS Global Finals this November as well as continue to seek competition opportunities for local pro-gamers through measures such as expanding the StarCraft KeSPA Cup.”